Nazareth man admits to child porn, inappropriate texts

September 07, 2012|By Riley Yates, Of The Morning Call

The Nazareth man first came to the attention of police last year because of the inappropriate text messages he was sending a 12-year-old girl in which he said he wanted to make her feel "warm and cozy."

After investigators seized Christopher M. Rothrock's cellphone, they found he had been using it to search the Internet for images of naked girls, according to court records.

After they searched his home and had his computer files analyzed, they found Rothrock had been downloading thousands of images of child pornography, police said.

On Friday, Rothrock, 46, pleaded guilty in Northampton County Court to five counts of possessing child pornography, as well as one count of criminal solicitation for the text messages he sent the girl.

He'll have to register as a sex offender for 10 years, and could be required to register for life if Judge Stephen Baratta deems him a sexual predator.

Rothrock was reported to police in February 2011 by the parents of the girl he had sent been messaging. Within more than 25 texts, Rothrock also said he wanted to massage the girl, and asked her to send him pictures of her exposed stomach, according to court records.

Assistant District Attorney Patricia Broscius said the girl eventually relented and provided Rothrock a photo of her "private areas." But Rothrock and his defense attorney, Christopher Shipman, disputed that.